Auction vs BIN... which is more accurate?

[Vger7]

My buddy thinks that no reserve auctions are the true reflection of a books value because people will bid as much as what they are willing to pay. I think this is false because buyers will reference past sales and try to come in under. ie; if a book has been selling for around $1,000, most savvy buyers try to pay $900.

 

I argue that “Buy It Now with best offer" (BIN) is more accurate because sellers will reference past sales to establish their asking price. ie; if a book has been selling for around $1,000, they may mark it up $1,100 or slightly higher with a "best offer" option. Yes, sellers are free ask what ever they want but if their ask is way above market, they are basically pricing themselves out of a sale. Most likely, their thought process is... I don't really want to sell unless some one is willing to pay my ridiculous price.

 

No reserve auctions tend to beat the price down, while fixed price listings maintain or bring the average up. There are all sorts of exceptions and variations of course based on individual circumstance and/or objective but generally speaking, what do you feel more accurately reflects a books value?

[jsilverjanet]

Problem with auctions is that time of day is a big factor on how the final price will be

 

Also there are too many variables on eBay

 

Pics, descriptions, seller feedback

[Vger7]

Problem with auctions is that time of day is a big factor on how the final price will be

 

Also there are too many variables on eBay

 

Pics, descriptions, seller feedback

 

 

Yes... exactly my point. If an auction ends on a Monday afternoon, while everyone is at work, it reflects poorly on the book. Thus, the final sale price may not represent its "true" value.

[kav]

Or, people know they won't be able to last minute bid so they are more likely to bid a higher amount to increase their odds of winning.

[Buzzetta]

I am digging BIN as a seller.

[kav]

Conversely I have had items at BIN that didn't sell then when I changed to auction it ended at greater than my BIN price.

Bidding fever is a thing.

[Vger7]

Or, people know they won't be able to last minute bid so they are more likely to bid a higher amount to increase their odds of winning.

 

Perhaps if it's a hard to find book but I think in many cases, savvy buyers know the value of what they are bidding on... especially if it's in the $1,000 range. They also know what they would realistically have to pay so they may try to pick up a book cheap to flip, upgrade... what have you.

[kav]

I've always done BIN for stuff not so much in demand auction for in demand.

[AL Comics]

I am digging BIN as a seller.

 

+1

[Lazyboy]

Problem with auctions is that time of day is a big factor on how the final price will be

 

Also there are too many variables on eBay

 

Pics, descriptions, seller feedback

 

 

Yes... exactly my point. If an auction ends on a Monday afternoon, while everyone is at work, it reflects poorly on the book. Thus, the final sale price may not represent its "true" value.

 

BINs only show what one person is willing to pay and give absolutely no indication of how deep the market is. How is that a more accurate reflection of market value?

 

If some insufficiently_thoughtful_person pops a $2000 BIN on a $1200 book, is $2000 the "true" value? What if a seller was unaware of the value of their item and priced the BIN really low?

 

The accurate reflection of market value is in a proper analysis of as many sales as possible, not in a single sale.

[bababooey]

I couldn't decide what thread to put this in...

 

via GPAdogrules Meme Maker

[davedawgbg]

This is an incredibly nuanced question that is easy (and often) oversimplified. A lot of factors go into what a book will sell for in both formats.

 

The first thing to understand is probably the most neglected notion by nearly everyone who chooses to list an item: the difference between wanting to SELL something, and wanting someone to BUY something. Sounds like one in the same, but they could not be more different.

 

When you choose to SELL something, you list with the intent of it ending with a sale: someone actually paying a price which you both agree. That agreed price can be reached either by the end of a no-reserve auction (that can also begin with a starting price reasonably below previous sales or accepted FMV), or a BIN listing at or near previous sales or accepted FMV.

 

When you want someone to BUY something, there is a price that you feel you’re entitled to. For whatever reason be it trying to recoup what was originally paid plus a profit, last sale plus a certain % increase, not actually wanting to sell but still listing to either garner views to other items or just flaunt it cuz you got it, or any multitude of other possibilities you list an item for what may or may not be “reasonable” price (always open for debate from both the buyer & seller angle) where there is little to no room or offer or negotiation. If you want this, you pay what I'm asking. If you don’t, you can go elsewhere.

 

If you’re someone that is selling while consciously attempting to affect (or maintain) what perceived FMV is then the answer is probably obvious.

 

My buddy thinks that no reserve auctions are the true reflection of a books value because people will bid as much as what they are willing to pay. I think this is false because buyers will reference past sales and try to come in under. ie; if a book has been selling for around $1,000, most savvy buyers try to pay $900.

 

I argue that “Buy It Now with best offer" (BIN) is more accurate because sellers will reference past sales to establish their asking price. ie; if a book has been selling for around $1,000, they may mark it up $1,100 or slightly higher with a "best offer" option.

 

This makes no sense. If this were true BIN listings would never sell and everyone would only buy in auction format. If people are always bidding less based on the last sale to get a book cheaper than the previous auction, perceived FMV would slowly but consistently be driven down because every auction would drive down the end price of the subsequent auction, thus making all the BIN listings overpriced and stagnant.

 

No reserve auctions tend to beat the price down, while fixed price listings maintain or bring the average up. There are all sorts of exceptions and variations of course based on individual circumstance and/or objective but generally speaking, what do you feel more accurately reflects a books value?

 

Unfortunately this is a further contradictory based on the aforementioned.

 

Problem with auctions is that time of day is a big factor on how the final price will be

 

Also there are too many variables on eBay

 

Pics, descriptions, seller feedback

 

These are crucial factors that can greatly affect the outcome of final prices in auctions and limited BIN listings (or not depending on the book in question and its current market fluidity/volatility). Availability is probably the greatest factor on which selling format will get the most traction to even have an effect on perceived FMV. The more a book is available you’ll invariably see more auctions because sellers are trying to take advantage of the bidding fever and maximize their potential return. This of course all ties back to the original point of whether the lister is attempting to SELL something, or get someone to BUY something.

 

The accurate reflection of market value is in a proper analysis of as many sales as possible, not in a single sale.

 

 

[Gatsby77]

I don't understand how this is even up for debate.

 

_Of course_ an auction is a truer reflection of value, if only because results are determined by the second-highest bidder -- thus based on two people's desire rather than one potential outlier.

 

It gets closer to repeatability and predictability (thus, true value).

 

Buy It Nows (particularly on eBay) favor the seller, hence why 90% of the comic book listings are now Buy-It-Nows -- if they were priced at FMV they'd all sell at that fixed price far more quickly.

 

Also, books break records at auctions all the time -- see weekly Heritage auction results and even last week's robust Comiclink results for proof.

 

As was pointed out above, if the tendency was to never bid above the last sale (or the last sale listed on GPA), GPA would definitionally never go up.

 

TL:DR: Auctions favor the buyer; BINs favor the seller

[namisgr]

I'm not understanding the premise here. Two terms have me confused, accurate and true value. Accurate compared to what standard? As for true value, it's whatever buyers pay, and I don't know that there's any such thing as false value, making the concept of true value meaningless to me.

 

Perhaps the premise is as follows: which realized price is most likely to reflect what the next offering in the same grade will fetch? Unfortunately, even this is confounded by whether the next sale will be via auction or BIN.

 

Underrepresented so far in the discussion is the mixed auction/BIN format, which is the one I use most often on E-Bay. This format is an auction, but the initial bid price is set not at 99 cents, but rather at a level close to or at the minimum price a buyer is willing to sell a book. Is this 'accurate'?

 

Also missing is the time variable. Obviously, an auction format guarantees that the comic will sell and the seller will have liquidated the book quickly. A BIN format does neither, but has the potential over a longer time frame to reach more prospective buyers and realize a higher sale price than an auction. Here, too, it's hard for me to see how both would be anything other than accurate to their conditions of sale.

[Chaseman210]

I always use BIN with a best offer. I think I've only had one auction over a year ago, and it ended up selling lower than the other copies I had of the same book/grade.

[1Cool]

Auctions are a terrible idea for 90% of books out there (especially Bronze thru modern age) if you want to get top dollar. You can get lucky every so often but with sniping, possibility of the right people being busy that night or just plain bad luck the deck is stacked against sellers when it comes to auctions. I'd even say auctions on sites like ComicLink and ComicConnect are great for hard to find 9.8s or ultra high grade keys but most other books just do better in BINs.

[marvelmaniac]

As a buyer only I have noticed that the majority of BIN prices are "stupidly, ridiculously" HIGH compared to Overstreet and actual eBay auction selling prices which I keep records of for my key books.

Same goes for the consignment books on MCS.

 

I always wondered what the seller was smoking before making the listing.

 

Just my opinion as a consumer.

 

 

 

[1Cool]

 

As a buyer only I have noticed that the majority of BIN prices are "stupidly, ridiculously" HIGH compared to Overstreet and actual eBay auction selling prices which I keep records of for my key books.

Same goes for the consignment books on MCS.

 

I always wondered what the seller was smoking before making the listing.

 

Just my opinion as a consumer.

 

 

 

Books marked at more then overstreet? Must be some hot keys you are tracking.

[KPR Comics]

Calling all CAKs, calling all CAKs. You have a thread waiting on line 1.

[Phicks]

I thought eBay made a policy change last year that for Collectibles (including comics) the number of BIN listings for each seller would be cut back to encourage more actual auctions. But when I search for nm Silver Age, over 95% of the listings are BIN. (and half the books are not even Silver Age, sellers, please list your books in the correct age).

 

There are a lot of over priced books that I see relisted month after month. Doesn't eBay charge the listers (you are not a seller if it never sells!) a fee for each of these failed listings?